IT IS safe to say that everybody is seeking
good, and not evil.
Everybody is seeking
pleasure, and not miseryhappiness, and
not woe.
The difficulty is that all of our
judgments are more or less perverted.
Some
have greater wisdom than others; but there
is none perfect, "none righteous, no, not
one."
All come short of the glorious standard
which God has set.
The difficulty is
that we have all been born in sin and are
all misshapen.
Not only our bodies are imperfect, but
likewise our brains are unbalancedsome one way, and
some another.
Consequently young men and maidens,
looking forth from childhood and youth upon the problems
of life, have various conceptions of happiness,
pleasure, joy, and make various resolutions and endeavors
respecting the filling of their cup with blessingslong
life, riches, ease, honor, etc.

The teachers of our public schools and colleges have
a most wonderful opportunity for influencing the course
of humanity.
We rejoice in the thought that the teachers
of the world in general are striving nobly for the fulfilment
of gracious, benevolent ideals, and they are using
their opportunities for the blessing and uplift of their
pupils.
And yet evidently many of them have but a slight
appreciation of their great privileges.
And some, of
course, like the remainder of the world, are selfish, and
think of their work from the standpoint of businessso
much effort, so much pay.

Fain would we encourage the teachers of the world to
look not entirely to the reward of the present, but especially
to the still more important reward of the future.
It is growingly the view of Bible students that our every
act and word, yea, and our very thoughts, our motives,
have to do not only with our present experiences, but also
with our future lifesecured for all through the redemption
Sacrifice at Calvary.

Of course, the first and chief responsibility for children
rests upon their parents.
And no doubt the majority
of parents, to some extent, realize their responsibility in
God's sight and man's, for the children they bring into
the world.
But they labor under the difficulties of their
own ignorance.
They knew not the proper course to
take in life themselves.
Their lives have been a succession
of blunderssome more, some less, serious.
They
presume that their children must blunder similarly, and
that success will be largely a matter of luck.
Not seeing
the principles underlying life's experiences, they are unable
to guide their children intelligently.
Here teachers,
moralists, religionists and humanitarians, find their opportunity.
But how little anyone seems able to accomplish
along any line!
And how discouraged the philanthropic
become!

In some States the progress has been more than in
others.
The "doggeries" have been transferred into
gilded palaces.
The sot is disdained, even by the man
who contributes to his fall by tempting his appetite beyond
the power of his will.

NEW ISSUES NOWNEW TEMPTATIONS

Our lesson tells of a time in the history of Israel when
the prosperous class had become wealthywhen many of
the nation's wisest and most brilliant people had settled
down to ease and luxuryto self-gratification.
They
considered that they had won in the battle of life, and
would now take their ease and enjoy the fruits of their
strife and diligence.
They would let the other fellow
do the worrying for awhile, and they would live on Easy
Street.

The Lord through the Prophet upbraided them, assuring
them that He was not pleased with such a course.
He tells them that woes are to be expected as a result.
It was made the mission of Amos to call attention to the
fact that aggressive selfishness had accumulated great
riches, that the wealthy were living in great luxury, and
that these conditions fostered pride and moral laxity
amongst the wealthy; while the poor were being filled
with avarice, losing respect for God and religion, for
truth and mercy, and the desire for further knowledge
of God.
Society was on the edge of a great volcano, and
God declared that an eruption was near at hand.
Amos
was His mouthpiece.
Today's lesson is a part of the
Message he delivered.

PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS CORRESPOND

Our lesson is not inappropriate to our times.
Notwithstanding
the progress that has been made in many
good lines, and notwithstanding the philanthropic sentiments
of many, inside and outside the Christian denominations,
nevertheless there is danger.
First of all, let
us consider the danger of the rich.
The wealth of our
day to a certain extent reaches to the very humblest and
scatters blessings to all.

But the bulk of the world's wealth is in the hands of
the few.
The inordinately rich are in great danger of
injuring themselves.
Some of these cannot devise ways
and means by which to consume even their incomes.
Luxuries of every kind are tasted in the hope of finding
rest, happiness, joy, peace.
Not finding these, mankind
still pursue them, seeking new avenues to happiness.
Wealth brings increased opportunity for sin in its various
forms, including debauchery.

The influence upon the poor is notable.
The latter,
seeking pleasure, imagine erroneously that the rich and
indolent are finding it, while they themselves are seeking
in vain.
Thus the poorer, surrounded by the wonderful
blessings of our day, are often miserable, because their
minds are discontented.
They want happiness, joy,
pleasure, and believe they can obtain these only through
wealth.
The result is that their hearts are filling with
anger and malice, and jealousy of the rich.
The way is
thus paved for most evil and atrocious conditions, and
many are fully persuaded that our present favorable social
conditions are maintained only through police and military
power, backed by all the assistance of modern timesthe telegraph, telephones, etc.

The secret of their success in finding what others are
still seeking for lies in the fact that they have been
Heaven-directed, and that they have followed the guidance
of God's Word.
And the more fully they have
heeded His instructions, the greater has been their blessing.
God's Message to all is, Seek first God's righteousness,
God's will, the Divine Rule or Kingdom.
Father
Adam rebelled against the Divine will, and by breaking
his covenant precipitated upon himself an avalanche of
imperfection and death, which has since remained on the
worldthe reign of sin and death.

God's Word reveals that in due time He will roll away
the curse, and bring blessings and opportunities to every
member of our race.
But meantime He would gather out
a special class for a special purposethe Church of the
First-borns, whose names are written in Heaven. (Heb. 12:23.)
These are to be highly exalted and to be used
of the Almighty with the Savior Jesus in the great work
of blessing the whole world.
These are the Seed of
Abraham, the Body of The Messiah, of which Jesus is the Head.Galatians 3:16-29.

The greatest privilege of the present time is to get
into this elect company of God's saints.
In order to enter
this company, faith and obedience are necessary requisites.
That faith must recognize Jesus as the Lamb of
God, the Sin-bearer.
It must recognize Him also as the
Pattern and Exemplar.
The reward will be to those who
have His spirit, His disposition, and who will walk
through the present life in His footsteps.
Such will
eventually gain with Him glory, honor, immortalitythe
Kingdom.

In the present time, they will to the world seem to
have the unfavorable side, a battle against the world, the
flesh and the Adversary.
The world cannot understand
what pleasure and blessing these really enjoy because of
the surrender of their wills to God's will, and because of
the Spirit of the Lord, which they consequently receive.
But these alone have the peace and joy and blessing which
the world can neither give nor take away.
What other
men are seeking and failing to find, God's saints enjoy.

"Peace is theirs which knows no measure,
Joys which through all time abide."